Police put the clamp on car thieves after a three-day operation in the Afan Valley saw the number of cars stolen reduced to zero.

The operation to tackle cross-border crime in the valley involved officers from Neath Port Talbot woking alongside the Forestry Commission and Environment Agency.

As well as high-profile patrols in the area, officers also carried out stop-checks and went undercover to carry out surveillance in hotspot areas.

A spokesman confirmed that the operation led to number of outstanding crimes being detected and saw the number of cars stolen in the area reduced to nil.

Port Talbot Sector Inspector Steve Morris said: 'We have had a number of incidents where cars have been stolen from the Port Talbot or Maesteg areas and being dumped in the Afan Valley forestry after being used in crime in the area.

'The three-day crime operation was carried out not only to detect outstanding crimes but also to prevent further crimes occurring and to increase community safety.

'Following the operation we have received no reports of stolen cars and we will be continuing our activity to further prevent crimes in this part of the division.'

Inspector Morris said police were working to take action against a small number of individuals who commit the vast majority of crime in the Afan Valley.

'This part of Neath Port Talbot is a relatively safe and peaceful place to live but we have had a number of crimes involving stolen vehicles committed by a small number of individuals,' he added.

'The communities should be reassured that we are out there and we are committed to bringing down crime and anti-social behaviour in the Afan Valley.

'This operation proved extremely useful in detecting and preventing crimes but also for intelligence gathering purposes.'